


Involuntary Apostates

by Katuary



Series: Choice and Chance [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Fugitives, Gen, Minor Character Death, Pre-Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 10:49:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21968116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katuary/pseuds/Katuary
Summary: Immediately follows "Thirteen Years." Evelyn's escape from the Circle, and her years as an apostate through the Conclave.
Series: Choice and Chance [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1445449
Kudos: 3





	Involuntary Apostates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picks up immediately after ["Thirteen Years"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20522810) and crosses paths with [chapter 2 of "Aftermath."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533868/chapters/50367140#workskin) The escape from the Circle.

Evelyn was well aware they couldn't put enough distance between themselves and the Tower before the templars gave chase. That didn't mean she wasn't praying under her breath for escape. _That_ didn't mean her first prayers in a decade were answered.

The Maker always seemed to favor the templars, after all. 

Two of them, fully armored and helmed. Barely a mile out of Ostwick.

"Halt! Surrender, mage!"

_You'll have to kill me._

She conjured a barrier for her group just in time to counter a smite from the smaller of the two knights. Evelyn grunted at the impact and the tips of her fingers went numb. Her barrier wasn't half as strong spread across herself and four children. She didn't dare look behind her, but she knew at least some of them had toppled from the blow.

Maintaining the block, she sent shards of ice at their helms. They ripped them off their heads before the cold could contract the metal and block their sight. A flash of flame caught the larger templar's short hair.

"Shea, _no!"_ The girl didn't have a staff; she shouldn't be casting. She wouldn't learn to control elemental spells without a weapon for _years._

Of course, Shea didn't listen to her. She lobbed another fireball in the other templar's face with a terrified shriek. Evelyn took advantage of the man's temporary blindness to freeze his boots firmly to the ground. _End it quickly. Before she gets hurt._

" _No!_ Leave us alone!"

"Freya, what're you _doing? Stop!"_

The younger boy's voice distracted Evelyn before she could throw another attack. She turned despite herself.

"Finn, what--" Her face froze. The little girl, Freya's, skin rippled and shook. The grass beneath her feet smoldered and caught fire as the other children watched in horror. " _Run!"_ Evelyn shouted, " _Get away from her!"_

Finn caught the youngest apprentice, Walter, by the sleeve of his too-large robes and took cover behind a stone wall. Just in time for sweet little Freya to burst into a seven foot tall rage demon.

"Merciful Andraste!" The templars had put out Shea's paltry fires, but their focus shifted to the new threat. 

Evelyn forced a cone of cold over the two men, freezing them in place. Inelegant. Sloppy. Panicked. But she had a demon to deal with.

"Evie!"

"Get _back!"_ She'd need everything she had left to concentrate.

She swirled her staff in an intricate pattern before jabbing the end into the ground. Winter's grasp. She'd only practiced it a handful of times since her Harrowing. Thankfully, it was all she needed for a weak demon. Only the weak targeted children. 

_I'm the one who took them outside the Tower's wards._ She stared at the spot the girl had been moments ago, now a charred circle of dirt. She only moved when Shea took her free hand and squeezed.

“We need to go,” the girl told her, “If we can get to the mountains, maybe they won’t find us.”

Evelyn nodded, blinking back tears. “You’re right. We need to go.”

* * *

When they reluctantly rested early the next morning, Evelyn took the moment to breathe. Just for a moment. She sat on the hillside and dragged her hand through the thick grass. She was mesmerized by the earthy smell, so unlike the stale sea air she'd breathed since she was a child herself. 

She had no time to savor the feeling though; someone was coming. Two travelers.

She gestured for the children to stay back, crouching with her staff and hoping the pair would pass them by. As the two turned abruptly toward them, Evelyn stood on shaking legs and released a cloud of frost from the tip of her weapon.

"I don't want to hurt you," she called through chattering teeth, "I'm _not_ an abomination, but I _will_ defend my own." If she could scare them off, she could hide the children before the strangers ran for help. Maybe she could draw the templars off herself, buy them enough time. Walter tugged on her sleeve and drew her from her thoughts.

"They're not templars, Evie," he said, pointing, "Look, he's got a staff. And no Tranquil brand."

So he did. Now that she had the chance to examine them closely, the blond man was clearly another runaway apostate...though he'd had the opportunity to change out of Circle robes. Evelyn didn't recognize him from Ostwick, but it was a large enough Circle that they may not have crossed paths. 

The woman worried her more. She carried an enormous two-handed sword and had the muscular build of a templar. Her face was easier to read though, crinkling in clear concern as she surveyed Evelyn's group. She opened her mouth, but her companion spoke first,

"Your Circle rebelled?"

Evelyn huffed a laugh and stared at the man in disbelief. How did he _not_ know? Even if he had come from another Circle, he must have heard about Kirkwall. 

"Rebelled?" She scoffed, "Oh no. We were _annulled._ " Just because the mages in the tower still breathed didn't make that less true. Everything that made them individuals had been erased. 

Both of the strangers' faces fell. Evelyn frowned and lowered her staff. "You haven't heard then? About Kirkwall? Knight-Commander Meredith?"

The warrior woman shook her head before answering, "No, we've...we've heard."

Evelyn credited her hesitation to shock. "You should turn back then," she told her, "Or north. I don't know. _Away_ is best. I..." An odd flare of magic distracted her. The strange man was...smoking? "What's wrong with your friend?"

The woman turned to her companion and rested a hand on his arm, murmuring something Evelyn couldn't hear. Evelyn stiffened; this had happened before. Why else would his companion treat this so naturally? She didn't understand what was happening, whether this was the work of a demon or something worse, but he was dangerous. She had enough trouble with the templars on their trail without allowing an unstable mage near the children. 

"I don't know what's going on here," she started, keeping her voice measured and calm, "But I think you should go. Templars won't be far behind us." Directing their attention to a different potential target was best. The woman's eyes met hers and she nodded. 

"I understand," she agreed, "We're headed different ways anyway. Please be safe."

Safe? What safety was there to be had for an apostate? 

"We'll...try." Evelyn gestured to the children behind her and took the opportunity to leave. They had wasted enough time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, those two travelers are exactly who you think they are.


End file.
